If you decide to buy a kit and apply vinyl adhesive wrap yourself, you can save money on installation, but without the right tools it’s easy to make mistakes.

Wraps can vary from hundreds of dollars to thousands. The wide cost range is due to the fact that the work can stretch from a simple single color to textures, specific metals or custom work. Though some of the following is known by many, it’s good to review the basics to understand what effects the car wrap cost.

Installing Car Wraps
Most often made of vinyl, car wraps are like a giant sticker over your car’s current paintjob. Pieces are made to the exact measurements of your vehicle for a perfect fit. When all the pieces line up, the final look is seamless.

In a city like Miami, where appearances often matter more than anything, it’s important to stay on top of the hottest city trends with auto wraps, customizing these to your liking and changing them often. Other than feeling good behind the wheel, benefits to getting a car wrap for your vehicle include having an extra layer of protection against natural elements, scratches, and debris.

How Do Car Wraps Adhere to a Vehicle?
A technician uses a 25’x60’ roll of vinyl at the start of a wrap project. The adhesive on the sticky side of the vinyl includes specialized channels so air can escape from beneath the surface rather than form air bubbles. When applying the wrap:

Solvents and / or rubbing alcohol are used on the vehicle to prep it

Any molding and mirrors are removed if needed or necessary

A heat gun softens the wrap material

Edges are carefully trimmed and excess materials removed

Why Get a Car Wrap?
Without buying a new car every few years, your older vehicle can look new again with one of these wraps. If you want to try out a more permanent feature like a smooth racing stripe, you can preview it with a wrap. You can also use these custom vinyl finishes to express yourself, showcasing a bit of your personality when you hop into the driver’s seat.

Business owners also benefit from striking and appealing mobile advertising. A logo, a tagline and a memorable image go a long way toward cost-efficient advertising to thousands of potential customers.

How Much Do Car Wraps Cost?
Car wrapping prices obviously vary depending on the wrap manufacturer, style of wrap and how much custom work you need done. Partial vehicle graphics can start below $100 per vehicle with full wraps $1,500 and up (installation included).

Look deeper into vinyl wraps at Auto Super Shield. We showcase a variety of finishes, including satin, color-changing, carbon fiber, white, matte, and chrome in numerous hues, as well as textures and 3D looks. We love custom work, to put someone’s vision onto his or her prized vehicle.

Perhaps the hardest part of getting a wrap is deciding what look you want on your car. The custom-graphic look is what most people immediately think about – and it’s a great choice that immediately personalizes your car as yours. There are so many other options out there now, though. From matte black to electric blue, from glow-in-the-dark to 3D and metallic, a car wrap is almost like choosing a tattoo.

But there’s one clear difference – a car wrap isn’t permanent. If you want to change the look of your car with the seasons, you can. If you want to get festive and match your car to holidays like Independence Day, New Year’s Day or Talk Like a Pirate Day, you can.

Wrapping a car so it looks professional is harder than it appears. At every step of the way, from preparing the surface to heating the wrap material, to follow up care, installing a wrap on a car is all about serious attention to detail.

Details like, the ideal air temperature (70-80 degrees), and at one point in the process to use non-alcohol and alcohol-based cleaners (alcohol-based, only at the end). It’s one way to help people understand the time and effort that goes into creating awesome on your car. The infographic below covers these steps in the process: Cleaning Your Vehicle, Application Process, Tools of the Trade and Application Tips.

Car owners were once offered, “any color as long as it’s black,” by Henry Ford. Of course, modern industry now provides a much wider range of options for the appearance of your car. Those looking to change their car’s color, have an early decision to make – paint job or vehicle wrap.

Choosing the right method is crucial to the beauty and longevity of your vehicle. Balance some of the considerations below.

Paint or Wrap: Cost Comparisons
Comparing car paint job cost with vehicle wrap cost is tricky because they vary with the size of the vehicle and the quality and nature of the coloring. As a rule of thumb, car wraps are cheaper, ranging in price from $1,500 to $5,000 depending on the quality, compared to $2,000 to $10,000 for paint. There are car wraps that are more expensive that are intricate, custom designer creations, usually not chosen for economic reasons.

Paint or Wrap: Temporal Troubles
Time is one of the most important hidden costs for paint jobs or wrap. While you wait, you have to borrow a car and inconvenience someone or pay for taxis, public transportation, or a rental car. Alternatively, you can ask friends and relatives for rides, but then consider the value of that person’s time.

The longer your car is being worked on, the higher the effective cost. Car wraps usually take 2-5 days, compared to over 2 weeks for many paint jobs.

Paint or Wrap: Rapid Reversals
However beautiful you think a new color will be, there’s no way to know for sure until after it’s done. The best work is easily reversible, and in this, car wraps are the clear winner. You can remove wraps at any point without harming the underlying paint. What’s more, the wrap acts as an added layer of protection.

You can then apply a new wrap or leave it alone. If you’ve painted your car, the only way to change the color it is to paint it again – or wrap it up.

The ability to remove wraps isn’t just aesthetically valuable; it also preserves the car’s resale value. Vehicles tend to sell for more if they remain their original color, and with a wrap, you can easily maintain and bring that back.

If you painted your car, your only choice is to paint it its old color, and even then, it may not look like it did when you bought it. Of course, painting a car does not always lower its resale value. Certain high-demand colors may actually make your car more valuable. But wraps are available in those colors.

Paint or Wrap: Modes of Maintenance
Maintaining a car’s paint is no mean feat. You must regularly wash and wax the vehicle to keep the paint from fade and decay. You can’t begin washing until at least a month after the paint job, as this will compromise curing; likewise, you cannot wax until at least two months after.

Because paint is vulnerable to scratches and dents, you must stock automobile-grade paint and touch the car up periodically. Otherwise, water will get into the scratches, rust the metal, and seriously damage the vehicle.

Conversely, car wraps are highly resilient to damage. You don’t have to wax a wrapped car, and you need only wash it periodically with soap and water. If your car gets scratched, the wrap will protect in some cases what’s underneath, preserving the vehicle from rust damage.

Further Features
When choosing between car wraps and paint, you should also take into account:

Wrap Materials – Wraps are made of different materials, including satin, vinyl, carbon fiber, and matte black car wrap. The material you choose affects the appearance, longevity, and coloring cost.

Paint Protection Films – If you choose to paint your car, apply a paint protection film on top, providing more protection than a vinyl wrap does – though at an additional cost.

Warranties – Wraps generally come with a year-long warranty for horizontal surfaces and up to three years for vertical ones. Paint job warranties tend to be shorter, though you can get a long warranty if you pay for a high-quality paint job.

The right color depends on particular car, desires, and budget. Weigh all features before deciding how to color your car.

Carbon Film: 3M carbon film is perhaps the most attractive of options because it creates a dark, nearly black depth. 3M’s carbon film blocks as much as 40% of infrared heat, reducing energy usage for cooling the vehicle. It’s long-lasting, and unlike many hybrid films, doesn’t interact with cell phones or car electronics such as report start or GPS navigation, and creates a sporty look.

Crystalline Film: Another quality option from 3M, crystalline film is a high-tech solution. It offers a high level of clarity and is designed to look top of the line. This multi-layer optical film uses some 200 layers of film but is thinner than a Post-It note. 3Ms top-of-the-line tint allows it to reduce heat at a higher level than darker films. It can reject as much as 97% of the sun’s heat and block as much as 60% of the heat coming into the car. It doesn’t interfere with technology.

Suntek Window TintSuntek window films are high-performance tint. Known for their use as high-impact marketing materials, these window films offer numerous shades and colors to create an aesthetically pleasing design. They tend to be easy to install and long lasting. Key offerings include:

CXP: A nano-hybrid product with similar features to the 3M crystalline film, but is a less costly option

Carbon: A non-fading carbon film; this is a long-lasting, energy saving product

Competitively priced, each Suntek tint is well made, doesn’t shrink, and offers excellent, long-term adhesion. This ensures the film remain in place for years. These window tints are ideal for those who want an impressive look, a moderate price, and overall high quality.

Spectra Window TintThe company’s Spectral Select Film VKool 70, offers up to 98.3% infra-red rejection and provides a high level of UV protection, as well. These are easy for a professional to apply. VKool offers as much as 73% visible light transmission to keep your car well lit while still cool.

Spectra Photosync Window Tint: This film offers a number of benefits including a total solar energy rejection rate of 79%. This comes from the solar adaptive coating applied to the film. This is a six-layer film tint with the main goal of reducing sun exposure. It can shade light in a range from 35% up to 75%, depending on the needs of the user.

The Spectra Photosync window tint is ideal for those who want more customization options, a good level of heat rejection and an overall good look. It does not block GPS or other electronic signals. This is a top-of-the-line tint used on many exotic cars. It’s the best on the market and very exclusive.

LLumar Window Tint
Another lesser-known brand is LLumar. This company offers a single dyed tinting film it produces. This film is a polyester layer that features a base layer of dye within an adhesive layer. It does not contain metal, which makes it an ideal choice for those who want a very dark look.

However, LLumar is mostly an appearance-based product. It does reduce heat transfer, but at a moderate level. It doesn’t interfere with your radio signals and will help reduce glare significantly. Choose Llumar when appearance and affordability are the most important goals.

A Note About Window Tinting State LawsWindow tint laws differ from one state to the next. These laws often limit the level of darkness and the overall types of coverings used. It’s essential to contact your local DMV or DMV Website to inquire about specific regulations within your state. A summary of many of these laws is available here.

Determining which is the best window tint means carefully considering the amount of heat reduction and UV protection desired, along with budgetary factors and graphic design needs. Whether tinting a company car or a favorite sports vehicle, each of these brands offers a high quality of product that, when professionally installed, amplifies function and improves efficiency.

Marketing managers or anyone involved in a business looking to spend advertising money need data to support their decisions. The infographic here provides solid numbers, detailing how memorable fleet graphics and vehicle wraps are and how they generally offer a better return on investment. For instance, outdoor signage on vehicles cost about $3.50 per thousand impressions, compared to about $24 per 1,000 for TV.

Being noticed doesn’t just happen, though and the infographic below manages to pack in information about related best marketing practices, as well. Those efforts start with an eye-catching, relevant image – for instance a large scorpion for a pest elimination company or dance floor partiers for a nightclub.

Vehicle Wraps – Marketing Best Practices

If you also have your company name clear and an easy to remember phone number you’re more than half way there. The phone number should be exclusively for such on-the-move-advertising so your company can track results. A catchy line about your services also goes a long way. That’s especially true if, when people type in that phrase in a search engine, your website shows up.

Lastly, if you can offer a discount or deal only for people who see your mobile billboards or other vehicle branding, then you are another step ahead of the competition. Using the same exclusive phone number mentioned above will help bring in customers and track marketing results.

If you are to play around with a few messages and looks in the real world, making sure the cars travel in roughly the same areas, then you can track what works that much better. Next time around, direct more dollars to what has proven to work.

For businesses looking to stretch their marketing budget, fleet advertising offers unbeatable value. This infographic compares the cost of different media assets to reveal the true value of fleet advertising, as well as statistics that highlight the effectiveness of vehicle advertising. Enjoy, share and let Auto Super Shield know if they can help you in any other way.